Medical Social Workers (Hansard, 28 March 1973)

§ Sir K. Joseph

Yes. Clause 12(2) of the National Health Service Reorganisation Bill places a statutory responsibility on local authorities to provide social work support for the health service and. after full and careful consideration of all the arguments, my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I have decided that as from 1st April 1974 and subject to certain safeguards, social work support for the health service in England and Wales should be provided by local authority social services departments and that hospital social workers should be employed by local authorities and made available to hospitals and other health service establishments.

We are well aware of the controversy that has surrounded this subject and deputations have been received both from those social workers who are in favour of transfer and those who oppose it. Although we have decided to transfer responsibility for the service to be provided, we propose to give safeguards both for hospitals and for hospital social workers. The safeguards to be provided in addition to Clause 12(2) include Clause 18(5) which provides that social workers in post will not be required to work away from hospital unless they consent to do so. We propose to set up a broadly-based working party, representing both health service and local authority interests, to examine the practical arrangements for the provision of social work support for the health service by the local authorities. Finally the local authority associations have given assurances that existing social work staffing levels in hospitals will not be altered after 1st April 1974 without full local consultation; that the facilities necessary for 363W social work training in hospitals will be fully taken into account by local authorities in such consultation; and that they will await the conclusions of the working party before taking any action in this respect.